Machine for packing flottb



UNTTED 4STrYTES PATENT @FETCH JAMES BANTA, JR., OF UTIGA, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR PACKING FLOUR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 1,271, dated August 2, 1839.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BANTA, J r., of the city of Utica, county of Oneida, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Machine for Packing Flour in Barrels, which is called by me a Flour-Packing Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same.

This machine consists of four upright posts either' connected by ties or secured to the frame work of the building, so as to form a rectangular frame of about 10 feet in height 5 feet in length and 3 feet in breadth, which dimensions may be varied to suit circumstances or convenience. This frame supports the other parts of the machine, and is represented in Figure l of the drawing by F Tt A M. `Within the frame above mentioned is a similar formed frame, of the same length; four feet or any other convenient height; and so wide as just to slide vertically between the upright posts of the exterior frame, being guidedv in its vertical motion by projections upon the posts or upright timbers of the inner frame working in the grooves g g in the posts of the outer frame.

Near the center' of the upper part of the inner frame is a cranked shaft (s s) passing lengthwise, which by its revolutions gives a vertical motion to the packing piston p p. At each end of this shaft is a bevel toothed wheel a a of 1 foot or any convenient diameter, by one of which (a) the shaft is driven, and the other (a) serving to drive the vertical shaft u 11, which by means of the band or strap b communicates a revolving motion to the packing piston 19 p. Upon the cranked shaft s s is a drum or band wheel (Z, which by means of the bands c c, the one direct and the other crossed, communicates opposite motions to the pulleys g g, which by being alternately, and at pleasure coupled with the cylindrical shaft t t, upon which they turn, give it a motion in either direction and thereby elevate or lower the inner frame of the machine by means of the ro-pe 1" 1 1. This rope, at the upper end 1, is made fast to a beam passing nearly through the center of the upper part of the exterior frame. Thence it passes downward and under the pulley wheel w, which is hung near the center of the upper part of the interior frame, thence upward and over the wheel lw, which is hung in the outer frame nearly over the wheel fw, thence it passes downward and is attached to the shaft t t at 1". Now the shaft 25 z to which' the end 11 of the rope is attached,

and the pulley wheel w', being connected with the interior and movable frame, and the other end 11 of the rope, as also the pulley wheel w, being connected with the exterior and immovable fra-me it may easily be seen, that by a revolving motion of the shaft t t, the rope 1 11 11 will be wound up on the shaft t t thereby causing the movable frame to which the shaft t t and the wheel w are attached to rise and approach the fixed end 11 of the rope and the pulley wheel w. The contrary motion of the shaft t t will suffer the rope to unwind therefrom, and permit the movable frame to descend by the force of its own weight.

The pulleys g g are so adapted to the shaft t t that, by being slid thereon in the direction of its length, both at the `same time and in the same direction, either may rat pleasure be made to take hold of a tooth or cog upon the shaft, by means of a correspending tooth or cog 1n the pulleys, thus giving the shaft t t a rotary motion in the same direction with the pulley wheel with which it is for the time connected.

The pulleys g g are slid upon the shaft t t by means of the rod e e placed over and parallel with the shaft t t and confined to a motion in the direction of its length, and movable with the hand by means of the lever Z Z or by such other means as may be convenient. rThis rod is furnished with two pins or processes projecting downward, one on the outside of each pulley, by means of which, when the rod e e is moved either way in the direction of its length, a corresponding and simultaneous motion is communicated to the pulleys g g. This rod e c has its end e in the form of a wedge or inclined plane for the purpose hereafter described. The dog or catch 7c attached to the inner frame and working into the toothed rack f f upon the outer frame prevents the inner frame from dropping down when the elevating rope is slack. When the rod e e is thrown in the direction from c to e (to give the lowering motion to the shaft t t) the wedge formed end e is thrust under the arm of the dog 7c throws it out of the rack and keeps it so till the motion of the shaft t t is changed to t-he elevating motion.

The packing piston consists of a cylindrillt) cal rod 29 p passing through two holes in the frame work, one directly over the other so as to confine it to a vertical position and permit it to revolve. Upon the lower end of this rod is a piston head or follower consisting of a circular rim and arms the spaces between the arms being alternately open and closed by wing-like valves, x w open downward and closing in the direction opposite to that in which the piston revolves.

The machine is propelled by the shaft and driving wheel m, n o, the shaft being furnished with a universal joint J, permitting the end (n) to rise and fall with the inner frame of the machine. The end n of the driving shaft runs in a box furnished with journals allowing it to turn on the same axis as the cranked shaft s s. Thus when the end n of the propelling shaft m n is raised or lowered, with the rising and falling of the interior frame of the machine, its axis is maintained in the same plane with the axis of the shaft s .s as is necessary for the proper working of the bevel gearing.

The movable box of the driving shaft m n is mounted in the upper part of a forked standard y y, a separate and enlarged view of which is shown in Fig. 2, in which a and ZJ represent the two branches of the fork; c the journal of the shaft s s hung in the branch a; of the fork, l and e the journals of the box in which runs the journal of the driving shaft m n which is at right angles with the propelled shaft s s. The lower end y of this standard being hung upon a pin, whose axis is parallel with the axis of the shaft s s the upper end y forming the support for the shafts m n and s s is suffered to describe a small arc of a circle about the center of the universal joint J as the interior frame is lowered and elevated.

To use this machine, the barrel is placed under the piston, and the machine lowered till the piston comes near the bottom of the barrel. The Hour is then thrown into the barrel, and as the piston rises by the crank motion, the valves w fr a' open and suffer the flour to fall through; as the piston falls the revolving motion causes the valves to close and the elevating rope being slack the whole weight of the machine comes upon the piston and thereby upon the flour. When the Hour becomes so hard as to sustain the weight thus brought upon it, the movable frame will be raised, and held up by the dog k while the piston rises lets the flour through, closes and presses as before. The operation is continued till the barrel is filled when it is removed and replaced by another.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- The mode herein described of packing flour by means of the piston head with valves, and having a Vert-ical reciprocating and horizontal rotary motion, all as herein described.

JAMES BANTA, J n. lVitnesses:

E. B. WHEELER, A. OAKLEY. 

